1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuse and truck cable assembly for traveling electric driven rail vehicles, such as rapid transit cars and, more particularly, to a fuse and truck cable assembly extending between the collector shoe riding on the third rail and the truck bus.
2. Description of Related Art
Electric current collectors for electrically driven rail vehicles are well known in the art. Typically, they have a collector shoe in running engagement with an electrical distribution rail. The collector shoe is resiliently mounted to the vehicle by an arm that permits the working engagement with the rail. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,498 entitled “Electric Current Collector” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,774 entitled “Auxiliary Vehicle Current Collector.” A fused electrical circuit is connected between the shoe and the truck bus. Typically, cables extend between the shoe and a fuse canister and between the fuse canister and the truck bus.
The time for replacement of collector fuses is a point of concern for maintenance workers performing routine maintenance on electric driven rail vehicles. Typically, it is necessary to remove a gland and then the truck cable from the fuse by removal of fasteners in order to replace the fuse.
Any number of arrangements for holding the fuse in the electrical circuit between the shoe and the truck bus are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,498, cited above, Japanese Published Application 04-331401 and German Offenlegungsschrift DE 100 54 170 A1.